The greatest scholar of his day, he was revered by his disciples, and was both an outstanding scholar and the foremost political figure of the 2nd century CE. His special status was bolstered by his large personal fortune and his close ties with the Roman rulers. In an act of preservation, Rabbi HaNasi violated the prohibitions against written records of the oral law and began composing a compendium of Torah knowledge. This work remains today second in importance and sanctity only to the Torah: the Mishna.